Not everything is as innocent as it looks. Some of the things we use on a daily basis – toys, beverages, beauty tips, even childhood favorites – have unexpectedly dark histories. We go about using the things we do without knowing that there are some dark stories attached to them. Once you read these, you will never be able to look at some of those “harmless” things in the same way again.
Treadmills
You consider it torture to run on one now? The original treadmills were literally used to punish prisoners in the 1800s. They were forced to walk for hours to turn mills or pumps, often chained. It was mindless, soul-destroying drudgery. We’ve come to pay to do it voluntarily today. Irony, isn’t it?
Monopoly
The board game that destroys family vacations was initially designed as an anti-capitalist didactic tool. It was intended to alert people to the fact of greedy landlords and inequality of wealth. But wow: a dude swiped the concept, added his name to it, and raked in millions. So, the game about stealing property… was itself stolen.
The Ouija Board
Today retailed in toy aisles, but at one point taken very seriously. It emerged out of America’s spiritualism obsession in the 1800s, frequently employed by bereaved families eager to communicate with deceased loved ones. It began as a tragedy-drenched tool for séances and became a party game. That’s a bizarre career arc.
Disney’s Early Cartoons
Those venerable Mickey Mouse shorts? Much grimmer than you recall. Early Disney animation was filled with racism, body horror, and downright nightmare-inducing stuff. One contained Mickey literally roasting a cat alive. Another included fright-inducingly racist caricatures. Childhood whimsy… with a disturbing underbelly.
The Bikini
A symbol of freedom today, but when the bikini was originally introduced in 1946, it was actually given the name of the nuclear bomb tests. Yes — the Bikini Atoll was used as a testing ground for American atomic bombs. The designer believed the swimsuit would be “explosive.” It turned out to be, in ways he did not anticipate.
The Invention of Coca-Cola
Think Coke was always just sugar and fizz? Nope. The early 1880s formula contained actual cocaine, thus the name “Coca.” It was sold as a nerve tonic and even used in medical marketing. So yes, your grandmother’s go-to soft drink originally began life as a legal, addictive, buzz-inducing pick-me-up.
Chocolate
Sweet comfort food that everyone loves? Based on a centuries-old, terrifying legacy of slavery. Cocoa plantations have relied on slave labor for hundreds of years, and a few still do. That silky smooth bar of dark chocolate may have a bitter legacy baked in. Not so sweet anymore, huh?
High Heels
High heels were not invented for women. Men originally made them for Persian men to keep their feet planted in place when riding horseback. European men borrowed it next, then royalty, then finally women, and then society punished women for wearing them “wrong.” Fashion’s messy.
Chainsaws
Surprise: Chainsaws were actually first developed in the late 1700s, not for trees, however, but to sever pelvic bones during childbirth. A medical horror tale that ultimately evolved into timber cutting.
Glow-in-the-Dark Paint
In the early 1900s, Radium Girls painted watch dials with radioactive paint and were instructed to lick the brushes for accuracy. Many of them died in a nasty way from radiation poisoning. Their teeth dislodged, their jaws dissolved. The glow was genuine… and the terror was real too.
Paperclips
A harmless office supply? During World War II, Norwegians clipped paperclips onto lapels as a means of silently protesting Nazi occupation. That little metal ring became a sign of secret rebellion. Who knew office waste could chicly say “screw you” to dictators?
Candy Land
That sweet board game emerged from a catastrophic epidemic. Created in the 1940s by polio survivor Eleanor Abbott to divert children who were quarantined, Candy Land was first a lifesaver. What seems whimsical originated in suffering.
Vaseline
Originally a byproduct of oil drilling and used to grease machines, Vaseline was discovered to soothe skin by accident. Its evolution from industrial grease to miracle cream is a strange twist of science.
Barcodes
That beep of the scanner came from Morse code memories. Inventor N. Joseph Woodland remembered dots and dashes from Scouts and scribbled lines in sand years later and came up with the barcode. Your grocery secret spy gadget? Inspired by campfire storytelling.
Balloons
Those colorful party staples? Originally made from animalbladders. Pig bladder inflated and tied with twine. Before rubber latex saturation, that was what you played with. Cheesy, right? That party balloon you love evolved from something you’d now report to a health inspector.
Secret Messages Hidden in Famous Works of Art
Behind every brushstroke, some of history’s most famous artists were sneaking in the shade, dirty jokes, and downright scandals. These masterpieces are anything but innocent. Once you know what’s really hiding in them, you’ll never look at “fine art” the same way again.
Secret Messages Hidden in Famous Works of Art
Sounds From the Past That No One Hears Anymore
We didn’t know it then, but some sounds were woven into the fabric of our daily life — loud, awkward, comforting, even annoying. And just like that, they disappeared. Here are the sounds that you likely haven’t heard in a very long time — but after you read them, your brain will supply the audio.
Sounds From the Past That No One Hears Anymore